rhino conservation issues · data submitted to the rmg are part of larger black rhino...

RHINO CONSERVATION ISSUES: MONITORING

Dr Jo Shaw Programme Officer – Large Mammal Trade

TRAFFIC East/Southern Africa

1st Round Discussions

DEA, SANParks, Provincial conservation agencies, Namibia, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Private land owners, WRSA, specialists,

plans for Botswana, Malawi, Zambia & Tanzania

National conservation authorities, DEA, Private landowners

African rhino range state reps, RMG chair, TRAFFIC, specialists,

RESG/INTERPOL, private land owners, donors

Rhino & Elephant Security Group/ INTERPOL Environmental Crime Working Group

WHY MONITOR? • “Audit” of rhino populations to check that none are

missing because of illegal off-takes or other demographic impacts. Can act as a deterrent to would-be poachers.

• Can provide information on the health and condition of individual animals.

• Adaptive management decisions to maximize growth rates for rhinos are based on population estimates and indices of population performance.

• Secure, healthy, growing rhino populations. Adapted from du Toit, 2006

• assess progress in meeting metapopulation goals (growth rates and population sizes)

• estimates of population sizes and densities can be used to estimate recommended removals (to maximise growth rates)

• compare performance of the different populations in different places and under different management regimes

• insights into factors affecting rhino population performance

FOR MANAGEMENT

Adapted from du Toit, 2006

Strategy Outcome 4 Developing an integrated and coordinated national information management system for all information related to rhino species in order to adequately inform security related decisions; Strategies / activities • Collect applied scientific research data, including rhino population

census statistics and estimates for public and private land, surveys, monitoring reports or other data related to rhino population, horns or associated derivatives;

• Efforts should also be coordinated to dovetail with existing efforts for black rhino and white rhino on state land (under SADC RMG and IUCN AfRSG).

• There is a definite need to also routinely monitor white rhinos and horn stocks on private and community land;

Rhino Horn stockpiles: software to register and audit horn stocks

Rhino numbers: 1. An updated SADC Rhino Management Group (RMG)

status report for regional populations of black rhinos Diceros bicornis for the period 2007 – 2011.

2. A population assessment of the white rhino Ceratotherium simum simum population on private land within South Africa for 2009 - 2011.

3. The development of a secure user-friendly web-based data collection tool to facilitate the collation and analysis of both the black and white rhino population data in future.

MONITORING PROJECTS

SADC RMG black rhino (Diceros bicornis) Status Reports

Reporting since 1989, so 18 years of individual black rhino history data from more than 100 populations in SADC. Data submitted to the RMG are part of larger Black rhino metapopulation monitoring database. Enabling RMG to track INDIVIDUAL rhino across their lifetimes between areas and across the sub-continent Now being updated 2007 to 2011 – adding another 5 years This kind of data set is almost unprecedented in any wild animal species in the world.

Adcock, 2011

Estimated numbers of subspecies of black rhino in South Africa, 1989-2010 (Data from M. Knight, 2011)

Distribution of black rhino subspecies (Emslie and Brooks, 1999)

• None / Incompletely known

• Show form

Knowledge gained from RMG status reporting records : • The negative of high adult male- to adult female- sex

ratios have on female reproductive success.

• Male bias in birth sex ratios and the degree of birth sex bias variation over time and location.

• Significant effect of translocation stress on delaying fertility onset in females who have not yet bred.

• Reproductive and mortality cost of translocations and how they can be compensated by good breeding rates in the translocated rhino.

Adcock, 2011

• Increases rates of calf loss / missed births with female age in different populations / habitats.

• Male rhinos killing calves and possible patterns linked to changes in male dominance within populations.

• Effect of habitat capacity (mainly average annual

rainfall and food vegetation density and quality) on average rhino home range sizes.

• Being able to analyse a sub-continental dataset allows insights that are not possible when dealing with one or a few populations.

Adcock, 2011

RMG information assists the IUCN AfRSG to compile South Africa’s reporting statistics and information to CITES. Helps maintain the INTERNATIONAL CREDIBILITY of South Africa’s black rhino conservation efforts at CITES and other international fora. Other African rhino range states have found the RMG Status Reports to be useful to justify the demands of black rhino conservation efforts to their own Government.

Adcock, 2011

The RMG Database will now link the GENETIC IDENTITY numbers of rhino individuals obtained from RhoDIS. But in addition, this means that with time, we can start to link rhino genetic characteristics with individual black rhino life history information, allowing the possibility of understanding genetic issues in black rhino performance and long term conservation.

Adcock, 2011

It is also valuable for RMG to keep detailed information on the black rhino because, on rare occasions, individual private and even state parks have been known to lose some or much of their own data records: There can be office fires, staff changes, computer crashes and so on that destroy or disrupt data integrity. The online system acts as a useful LONG TERM BACKUP for much of the essential data.

Adcock, 2011

2007-2011 SADC RMG black rhino survey

Information on black rhino from:

• South Africa; SANParks, EKZNW, NWPTB, ECPTA, private owners

• Namibia

• Zimbabwe

• Zambia

• Malawi

• Botswana

WHITE RHINO SURVEY 2011 SQUARE LIPPED (WHITE) RHINOCEROS

ON PRIVATE LAND

• Surveys of private sector white rhino populations began in 1987. Current survey from 2009 to 2011 is the ninth to be undertaken.

• The 2004 survey of white rhino populations on private property identified a total of 3,247 animals

• Study conducted in 2008 indicated that the number had increased to 4,033

• Preliminary analysis from the latest survey data suggest the current total may be more than 5,000.

Numbers of white rhino on private land (excluding zoos) in South Africa 1999-2010 (Data from M. Knight, 2011)

WHITE RHINO SURVEY ON PRIVATE LAND

Basic (optional) questions on;

Demographics - births and deaths

Movements - purchases, sales, hunts

Poaching incidents

Monitoring methods

Security and costs

Horn stockpiles

Management objectives

Legal trade

WHITE RHINO SURVEY ON PRIVATE LAND

To date more than 320 private rhino owners have been contacted, either via phone or e-mail.

Working off the 2008 WWF survey database and stoprhinopoaching.com database.

Thanks to WRSA, WTA, Provinces and rhino owners for encouraging participation.

CHALLENGES

• Apathy.

• Lack of monitoring information?

• “When they let me trade I’ll tell you what I’ve got.”

• Time taken to fill out the forms.

• A few security concerns – this has improved now that farm details are optional.

• Encourage submission of outstanding data.

RMG ONLINE DATABASE • A secure, non-public, encrypted and password

controlled rhino database is currently being developed.

• Detailed fields for black rhino, less detailed for white rhino.

• Each reserve will have access to their data only for corrections and additions.

• Provides a monitoring tool for rhino in each reserve.

• Only the RMG Chairman and designated status report summary compilers will have access to all data.

• www.rhinoowners.org – donated by Jacaranda FM to RMG – awaiting input from role-players.

RhoDIS

Dr Cindy Harper and the Veterinary Genetics Lab of the University of Pretoria have pioneered a technique that enables analysis of nuclear DNA taken from rhino horn samples to identify individual rhinos.

Forensic tool to link individual rhinos and horns. Also potential for rhino population management.

Key concepts for stockpile management

• Standardization (throughout east and southern Africa)

• Identification as unique specimen

• Registration for auditing

• Compatibility with existing systems

• Efficient use of available resources

• Security for management of stockpiles

• Compliance with minimum standards

Milledge, 2004

Strategy Outcome 4 Developing an integrated and coordinated national information management system for all information related to rhino species in order to adequately inform security related decisions; Strategies / activities • Collect applied scientific research data, including rhino population

census statistics and estimates for public and private land, surveys, monitoring reports or other data related to rhino population, horns or associated derivatives;

• Efforts should also be coordinated to dovetail with existing efforts for black rhino and white rhino on state land (under SADC RMG and IUCN AfRSG).

• There is a definite need to also routinely monitor white rhinos and horn stocks on private and community land;

Successful rhino conservation

• Secure, healthy rhino populations

• Adaptive biological management

• Sound demographic monitoring data

• Value of integrated system for rhino monitoring data

• Encourage compliance from all stakeholders

THANK YOU

Dr Jo Shaw joannes@ewt.org.za